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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bark — to shout
  8. row — a line
  9. last — to go on
  10. charge — a price
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bass — low music
  14. tube — a container
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. shower — rain
  22. charge — in control
  23. charge — electricity
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com